Medical complications of eating disorders: an update.

Eating disorders continue to be a prevalent problem in modern society, with serious, potentially lifethreatening consequences. Anorexia nervosa (AN) is estimated to affect 1% of all children, adolescents, and young adults, bulimia nervosa (BN) is found in 1% to 19% depending on population surveyed, and “eating disorder not otherwise specified” (EDNOS) is found in as many as two-thirds of college athletes and other high risk groups [1–4]. The medical complications caused by eating disorders involve almost all organ systems and can be viewed in terms of consequences of: (a) starvation, (b) purging behaviors, and (c) binge eating. This article will review the medical complications as they affect various organ systems in patients with eating disorders. An overview of these medical effects is outlined in Table 1.